Fall of Starfleet Side story: A tarnished Diamond
by Legendbringer
Summary: Rarity tells a story to her daughter


**but Rarity, she's nothing but a hopeless, melodramatic mental-case snob. she pretty much belongs in a nuthouse.  
**

 _Crystal, would you like to hear a story before you go to bed? Ok, this story takes place about three years ago, before the war with Conquest began. Before your father grew into his size, before mommy grew wings, and just a month before Twilight...well, let's just say before she went away for a bit._

 _This story gets its start when I was making my dresses for Lighting and Starla's wedding..._

Rarity let out a sigh as she began to look over the materials before her, the various colors and patterns looking unpleasing to the eye. Shaking her head, she began to switch each piece of fabric with another, trying to solve the riddle of how to best match up the right color. A frustrated growl escaped her lips as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, "Oh, if I only knew how those blasted ener-whatevers work. Do they just beam the clothes into the device or do they just remove it? How do they even clean the blasted...ooooooh! And what was with Starla's attitude about me making her dress?"

A mix of a scowl and sigh left Rarity as she looked up at the ceiling, levitating her pen to her lips so she could tap it against her. Then she spun the pen in a circle as she kept talking to herself, "I could make her dress look gaudy as revenge for everything she had ever said or done to me."

"Merow!" mewled Opal.

Smiling, Rarity lowered her hand to pet her cat, "Oh, I wouldn't really, Opal. I would never ruin my reputation by messing up her dress, but her requests about how I should make it are just so aggravating. She wants it to be military, to look strong, but not too strong. She wants to outshine us all, but not her husband." she let out another sigh and began to think, "The ponies at Starfleet do know how to stifle a girl's creativity."

She was brought out of her moping by the sound of a ringing chime, "A customer!" Rarity said with a bright smile. Turning around, she began to run down the stairs and put on her work clothes. After fixing her mane for a moment, she opened the door and said, "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic and magnifique. What can I do for you?"

"Like, oh my gosh!" the bubbly charcoal colored mare with the green mane said, sounding giddy as she bounced up and down, "Can't believe like I am really here in the house of THE Rarity Belle. My name is Poisandra Hemlock and I am like a big name fan of yours!"

"Um, thank you. A pleasure to meet you as well," Rarity said, a little taken aback by the excitement, " _You and Pinkie should talk."_ Rarity thought to herself.

"Now, don't let the coat color or the name fool you," Hemlock said, waving her hand, "I am actually quite peppy! Like today, I found out my sister is getting married soon! Oh, and I had to buy one of yours from the Canterlot wedding!"

"Um, well, I do have some on stock," Rarity said, looking back behind her, "but if you could please bring your sister here for some mea-"

"Oh, no need! I'll just take one and bring it to her to help see if it fits!" squeed the mare as she took the nearest wedding dress and running to the door, giving Rarity a quick glimpse of the cutie mark.

"Hmm, a chameleon? Must be an animal caretaker," Rarity said, shaking her head before walking up the stairs. Looking back at the clock to see it click to time patrol, she frowned and turned back the clock before smiling and walking back to her work.

 _The next day, I found something that chilled me to the bone._

"Thanks for walking with me Rarity," Twilight said, holding a new book in her hand. "I have been dying to look into 'Fullmetal Alchemist' again."

Rarity shook her head and threw back her mane before sighing, "It is nothing major for me, I assure you Twilight. Anything to take my mind off of 'Sombra and his attack and we need to find pieces of the Crystal Heart!"

Twilight shook her head as she put the book into her bag, " I still don't understand how the heart can be broken, while the empire has clear weather." with a quick glance, she wrote down a little note in her list and walked with Rarity. "Or even why-"

"Oh my god!" shouted a stallion.

"It's horrible!"

"That poor mare."

Rarity and Twilight looked at each other before quickly running to where the commotion was. Many of the Unicorpians kept in the way of the two mares, but some of the Ponyvillians moved for the two letting them by. When Rarity got a quick look at the mare, she let out a gasp, "Oh my word." she whispered, eyes wide in shock.

The mare laid in the puddle in the alleyway, her lips sewn shut. Her eyes were carved out, leaving behind the eye sockets and the brain exposed. Arms and legs looked like they were waxed until they could shine and the dress she wore was stained in blood. Twilight put her finger to her chin as she whispered, "She looks like a doll." then she looked up at a blood drawn message 'Dolly didn't see well.' "What maniac would-"

"That's my dress," Rarity whispered and shook her head, "That's the wedding dress I designed."

 _It disturbed me to see my dress that I designed with love and tenderness to be found on a body the next day as somepony bought it, but I did try and go back to work. Then two days later..._

A dark grey mare with purple mane opened the door of the boutique and stepped in, tears flowing down her cheeks. Looking at Rarity, she gave out a small whimper as she whispered, "OH, dearest Rarity," she spoke with a soft voice, "Could you please make me a funeral dress. I need to wear one for a friend's funeral."

"Well, ok," Rarity said, offering a hand, "I am dreadfully sorry for your loss."

The mare said a soft thank you and followed Rarity in.

 _The next day, I found that same dress on another victim, this one with her head cut off thanks to a coffin._

 _A week after that, another victim wearing one of my dresses was killed, followed by another. It was soon apparent that there was a serial killer and the culprit was using my store to pick the victims. It was worse when you take in the fact that I couldn't really identify the culprit because they took the time to change their identity, so I couldn't know who it was or who to look out for._

 _Not that this helped with my reputation. It became the talk of the town amongst the Unicorpians that my place was cursed, that to buy a dress from me was to invite death. Everyday I could hear the sneers of them or the comments about how I was an airhead. Oh, the comments I would hear, especially from one of my more 'famous' customers..._

Rarity stepped back from the news eyes wide in shock, "What? You are canceling your order?"

"You heard me," Starla said, eyes cast downward at Rarity, disgust building in her voice, "I am canceling my order on your wedding dress. Can't really have my wedding connected to a cursed place like this."

"Cursed? MY place is not cursed! It's just that a murderer is using my dresses for their killings and I cannot figure it out," Rarity said, shaking her head.

"A fine excuse coming from an air headed diva," Starla rolled her eyes.

"So, that's what this is all about?" Rarity asked, looking at her superior officer, "You just wanted an excuse to ditch me?"

"Look, Lighting ordered me to get my dress from you, to show unity. If I had my choice, then I would've ditched you a long time ago," Starla said. "I don't mess with divas. Especially airheads like you. And before you ask, I remember the grocery incident."

"That was a lie! I would never stand at a check-out line for hours! No pony does that," Rarity exclaimed. "Just what is your problem? I have been nothing but nice to you, kind to you, and respectful towards you."

"Well, want a list?" Starla said, counting off her fingers, "You are selfish, you are a dunce, worthless, and you have a horrible attitude."

"Attitude?" Rarity said, standing up and narrowing her eyes.

"A pompous and stuck up attitude. One that is not befitting a soldier. You are an idiot, and try not to talk about your business, it's pointless," Starla said, rolling her eyes.

Rarity could feel her blood boil and she looked to her side. In a distant corner of her room was a sword, gleaming with a hilt in the shape of a diamond. With a flash of indigo magic, she began to bring her sword to her, "You have insulted my honor you contentable who-"

"RARITY!" shouted Twilight, stepping in front of her and stopping her from getting her sword, "Please, don't do this."

Rarity sighed, and dropped her sword from her magic, "I am sorry, Twilight."

"Be thankful, Rarity," Starla said, walking away, "If Twilight didn't stop you, I would've had a reason to kick your ass."

Twilight said nothing, only frowning at Starla as she left. Then she looked back to Rarity and sighed, "Rarity, I am sorry that she-"

"No, no," Rarity said, running her fingers through her mane, "It's all right. She always gets like that around me. I just seem to spark some sort of rage in her, and I don't know why."

"Still, it gives her no right to act like that around you," Twilight said.

Rarity gave out a chuckle and turned away, her eyes watering, "It's fine, really. Compared to what I hear from Unicorpians on a daily basis, hers are tame. Now," she interrupted Twilight before she could say anything more, '"I assume you are not here to defend my honor like a nobel knight."

"No, I am here to help you with the case about who is using your dresses for murders," Twilight said, lifting up a book and putting it down.

Rarity let out a sigh and smiled, "Oh thank you Twilight."

"You are welcome," Twilight said with a smirk, before opening the book and looking at the newspaper clippings, "Now, you can see that this hasn't been the first time that this has happened. This has been happening in a cycle for the past ten years, every two years there is a string of doll murders that has been connected to dress makers."

"My word, and nopony has been able to catch the culprit?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head, "No. But there was a lead that the police couldn't really follow up on. Her name was Melone Anthrax, a doll maker. However, nopony could-"

"Wait," Rarity said, looking at Twilight and then beginning to think, "Could you write that name again? And show me a photo?"

"Sure," Twilight said, grabbing a pen to write down the name. As she did, Twilight also brought out a picture of the suspect from the newspaper. "Here."

"Hmm," Rarity said, looking at the photo, noting the chameleon cutie mark, "Chameleon?" she asked, looking at the unicorn.

"Yes, her special talent was disguise," Twilight said, watching Rarity put together the words of the name with her magic, "What are you doing?"

"Something about the name, dear," Rarity said, using her magic to change the letters around before backing up and then began to rearrange the letters, "Mel...antha?"

"The name of one of Sombra's generals?" Twilight asked, looking to Rarity.

"Makes sense," Rarity said, putting a finger to her chin. "We did find out that Frost was a criminal who killed ponies by freezing them."

"How about after the wedding, I can look up the information and help you," Twilight said, looking to Rarity with a smile.

 _Sadly, that promise was never meant to be as she died on Lighting's wedding day._

 _For the longest time, we all were broken due to the lost of our dearest friend. Each one of us finding our own way to cope: Applejack pushed herself to her limits, Rainbow Dash mired herself in patrolling, Fluttershy all but vanished, and Pinkie... I don't she really did handle it. As for me, I tried everything to make the pain just vanish. Forcing myself to work, keeping long hours, and doing all I can to help others. More and more I just began to seperate myself from things that would risk making me feel sad or miserable. As if I just wanted to be away from the imperfections of my life. One day, however..._

Rarity sighed as she looked at her newest dress, the tenth she had made that day and the thirteenth that week. Her sapphire blue eyes began to look over every inch of it, seeing the numerous imperfections that she had put in. It was like she could see nothing but mistake after mistake, and with a growl, she threw it in the trash with all of the other dresses she had made.

Laying her head onto her forearms, she looked outside of her window, and sighed. She could feel a tear or two run down her cheek as she looked at the library in the distance, so cold and empty. Running her finger along a small nudge in the table, she could feel her desire to create or to craft slowly fade away once more.

Another look and her eyes drifted to Sugar Cube Corner, her mind remembering the news about Pinkie and what had happened to her. This sent another pang in her heart that once again zapped the creativity in her and she once again lowered her head to her forearms. That was when an all-too familiar voice spoke up, "Oh, get over it." Starla ordered. "We all have by now, why not you?"

Rarity frowned and turned her head up. With a quick use of her magic, she cleaned herself up and fixed her mane, "Because, Miss Shine, one does not simply 'get over' the loss of something important."

"Lighting did, he used that be better and become stronger. I have! I haven't once thought about my father or my mother in years," Starla said.

"Well my apologies," Rarity said, trying to keep her usual demeanor, "We cannot all be emotionless rubes such as you and your team. Perhaps when you lose a member of your team, we'll see how well you hold yourself together."

Starla scoffed as she said, "Please, as if that would happen. We'll survive anything, that's why we are just better."

"Excuse me?" Rarity whispered, her rage boiling as she narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, I am sorry little miss diva. Did I say something too complicated for you?" Starla said, walking around Rarity, "We. Are. Just. Better."

Rarity let out a small dismissive chuckle as she got off the chair and began to pull her mane into a ponytail, "Oh ho, my dear Starla. You may be stronger than I am, faster I'll give you that, more skilled in magic, but you will never be _better_ than me."

Starla laughed, "I am a million times better than a over-dramatic, pompous, very self-centered, shallow, vain, has half regard for those she cares about.."

"Well, my dear," Rarity said, levitating some of her work out of her way as she walked to a corner, "I would rather be that, than an uncreative bore such as yourself."

"Uncreative? Bore? I am more educated and more mature than you will ever be you low class, illiterate Diva," Starla said.

"At least I can read a star chart and my lovers weren't just given to me," Rarity said, "And I earned my position, unlike you who was given her classes."

"Oh please a low-intelligence- OOOOOOW!" Starla yelped as she felt a glove slap across her face. Rubbing the side of her face in shock, she gasped, "You...slapped me! That is assaulting a superior officer!"

Rarity wagged her finger with a smirk, "Wrong, in a situation like this, according to Starfleet code, I am challenging you to a duel due to an insult on my honor. At which case, I am free to challenge you to a duel for such insults."

Starla shook her head, "I never heard of a law."

"It is an old code, but I happened to discover it when I was reading a Starfleet detective novel. I was intrigued by such a code I looked it up."

"Fine," Starla said with a shrug before asking back in a mocking tone, "So, what's it going to be? Embroidery, dresses, archery." her words died on her throat when she found a blade pointed at her throat. Her eyes looked down at the longsword, the whiteness of the blade leading to a diamond shaped crossguard and a jewel studded hilt.

"No, my dear, something a little more personal than arrows or blasters. While I do enjoy archery, I find swords to be much more personal. I can acutely see the emotions on my opponent's face," there was a devilish smirk on her face as she said this.

Starla shook a little, "And what about blasters."

"Such an unsophisticated weapon, for a more unsophisticated time," Rarity remarked with a shrug.

"Y-y-you realize that you could die," Starla questioned, shaking.

Rarity smiled, "Then I'll die in a duel. But I thought Starfleet were not afraid to die."

Starla frowned and then growled, "Fine! But I don't have a blade." a sword then fell to her feet.

"Take my uncles old sword," Rarity remarked, brandishing her sword, "It's stale, undefined, and follows his master to a t. Perfect for a lapdog."

Starla growled as she picked up the blade, "Oh," She whispered, rage masking a quiver in her voice. "I am going to enjoy running this through your heart."

Rarity smirked and narrowed her eyes,"Scared?"

"No," Starla said, "I-i-i have been looking for a chance to end this."

The two fighters looked at each other, eyes narrowed. The tips of their blades touching one another. Breaths came out slowly, in anticipation for the next move. Each duelist ready to move at a moments notice. After waiting for all too short time, they pulled back and-

""What's going on here," Lighting Dawn shouted, stepping into the boutique.

Dropping her blade, Starla said, "Nothing, dear. I was just thinking about a new way to spar with her."

"Um, ok" Lighting said uneasily,"Hey I was thinking, since I'm off patrol, we could go out?"

Starla smiled,"Great. There is this solar system exhibit at-"

"So, I was thinking a walk through the park and..." Lighting began to trail off his date activities as he pulled Starla by the arm out of door.

Starla looked over her shoulder at Rarity, who could only say, "I maybe an airhead, but at least I haven't lost myself.'

Rarity shook her head as she said, "I need to head out."

 _I did not have courage to admit that i, myself, was afraid. I never had been in a duel before and I was scared of the consequences. But, I am quietly skilled in reading ponies and she didn't seem like a pony who truly knew what death was. More like a mare who faced sure wins and was over confident in her strength._

 _Wanting time away from work, I left and began to head for my parents home. That was when I noticed that Mother was under duress._

"Honey, where's Sweetie Belle?" Pearl asked, her eyes wide in fear.

 _My heart and whole body froze at this question. I remembered earlier that day, a mare came in and asked for a dress for her child...one about Sweetie Belle's age._

 _It didn't take me too long to realize that Sweetie would be the killer's next victim. Rushing as fast as I could, I made my way to the school to look for a clue._

 _Using my years of intuition and seeing beyond the norm, I looked closely at the school grounds. That was when I felt a familiar tingling on my horn. Taking a quick look around, I saw a small little ruby on the ground. I instantly remembered that it was one of the gems I gave to Sweetie as part of a costume for school that day._

 _With a quick flare of my horn, I began to see dropped gems leading away from the school and towards an old abandoned house. I recognized it as an old dollmaker's house that I went to when I was younger. Fitting for a serial killer that enjoyed dressing and making her victims like dolls._

 _With careful tread, I slowly walking into the old house. Inside, I was disgusted by the amount of dust that littered the house, and the horrible stench of dead ponies just hit my nose like a train. It was simply horrifying, but for the sake of your aunt I carried on. Hearing the muffled sounds of a lullabye, I walked up the stairs to see Sweetie Belle tied next to a dollhouse and Melantha walking in front of her, brandishing a knife while she sung._

" _Come with me_

 _And you will be_

 _In a world of pure imagination-"_

"Please ma'am, let me go," Sweetie Belle whimpered, struggling against her bindings while tears ran down her cheeks. Little cuts were all along her young teenage body, some even along her clothes to bear more skin.

Melantha giggled, a crazed look in her eyes as she looked over her shoulder at Sweetie Belle, "Now, now, little doll, you shouldn't talk. It's not nice to ruin the mood with begging. Your voice ruins the mood."

Sweetie Belle shuddered, "What mood? Y-you're gonna kill me! And I don't know why!"

"Oh, why?" asked Melantha sweetly. "I can tell you why. See, my latest dolly needs a voice box to sing. You have a pretty voice," she said, putting a knife to Sweeties trembling throat.

"Get away from her, monster!" Rarity shouted, pointing her blade at Melantha.

Melantha smiled and chuckled, breaking into a small laughter as she backed away, "Monster? I look like a monster to you? My dear lady, I am no monster. I am but a curator, a maker of things of beautiful. Isn't that what you do? Make things beautiful with your dresses?"

"No, that's not what I- I mean I-" Rarity shook her head, trying to focus as she looked at the mare and then to her sister. Eyes began to quickly dart across the room in the hunt for something to use to cut the ropes.

"See, I know the truth about ponykind. Deep down, inside, we are all ugly little creatures that need to be cleansed," Melantha said, rubbing her thumb along the sharp of her blade and letting it cut into her flesh.

"That's not true," Rarity said, shaking her head.

Melantha laughed, watching the blood run down her thumb, "Isn't it? The dressmaker who is nothing more than a selfish bitch. The nurse who steals drugs for her addiction. The politician who supports murderers. We are all tainted deep down inside and I am just fixing Celestia's mistake."

"Don't try to cover up your sins with pretty words, heathen," Rarity said, keeping her sword pointed at Melantha.

"Who's covering up? I am just pointing out that I am doing what you are doing," Melantha said, smiling as she saw Rarity's look of rage at being compared. "Think about it. You live to bring out the inner beauty of ponies, to make others lovely and bring out the inner beauty that lies within their souls. You see all things as beautiful and you live to give your all for that goal. Me? I live to make sure that their inner darkness never ruins that beauty."

"By making them into dolls?" Rarity said, shaking her head while holding in her rage, "You're sick."

"Why yes, making them into dolls. That's why I went for your dresses," Melantha said, giggling as she looked at her blood widely, "to help you in your goal to make all things beautiful, before your inner darkness ruined them forever."

"I don't have an inner darkness," Rarity said.

"Yes, you do. See, that's the problem with you ponies and your futurism. You see the future as a bright place, looking forward to the dreams and that you can work towards your goals. But in the end, all life lives to become corrupted. And that is what I am going to bring to the world, the truth."

Rarity stepped forward, "I'll stop you."

"Oh, really?" Melantha said, looking back at Sweetie Belle. "You know what sucks about Generosity? It's closeness to the ideals of sacrifice. Tell me, would you still see yourself as pure if you lost your sister?" Melantha asked, turning to stab Sweetie Belle.

"NO!" shouted Rarity, charging forth with her blade.

 _I didn't anticipate that Melantha would turn around at that moment, just when I was charging at her. Nor did I see her aiming at me, ready to try and kill me with a deadly blow. So when I heard the sound of flesh being pierced and the splatter of blood, I was left in a state of shock for a few brief moments. Looking down, I had noticed that her dagger was in my shoulder, away from my heart. She, was not so lucky. My blade had run her through._

 _As she laid dying on my blade, all I could hear was her laughing at me. Her dying cackle as she called me tainted, and tarnished. And that is what I felt at that moment as I slipped my blade from her cold body. Everything after that felt as if I was not in control of my body. I had freed Sweetie Belle, felt her hug me, and thanked me for saving her; however, I did not feel as I should've, after completing such a deed. I just felt hollow and empty._

 _Going home, I tried to rationalize the taking of another life. She was a murderer, it was a duel to the death, or she had to die. All of these thought_ s _ran through my mind as I tried to bury myself into my work and away from my friends. But everything I did ignored the real problem, that I was afraid of losing myself._

 _It was always easy for me to ignore the slings and arrows thrown my way by Starfleet. I just let them call me what they want, it never really bothered me in the least. What was truly frightening me, was that I was losing myself to the whims and desires of Starfleet. That I was giving myself to the state at the expense of my dreams and identity._

Learn this, Clarity, never sacrifice your true self for anything and do not give up your dreams

 _Now, I was not naive about the risk of taking a life. It's how nobles of old always justified death and it's why Celestia abolished such things centuries ago.. I know that it's the way that some nobles will see life, but that isn't what I wanted. I was always in love with the ideal of being noble, of what it meant to be ladylike and proper. Like what your great-uncle always taught me to be. However, I was always afraid to be sucked into the falsehood of the nobility, to lose what I am and sacrifice my inner beauty for them._

 _And that is what I feared was happening to me and Starfleet. What if rationalizing that death was just me becoming more and more what they wanted me to be, a soldier. I didn't want to become like that, I didn't want to sacrifice my dreams or my job just to be a puppet of the state. I saw them, they treat the jobs that they enjoy as mere hobbies and expect ponies like me and your aunts to do the same. Through away the careers and our livelihoods because they offer more money._

 _Was I going to become like that, just another cog in their machine? Would I have to give up all I am in order to become a better mare to them? Was I losing myself, and was I becoming the mare they wanted me to be?_

 _These thoughts scared me, but I did try to push them aside. I never did tell anypony what had happened on that day, instead choosing to focus on my work and the wedding of Lighting and Starla. So, time passed, as it so often does. We defeated Sombra, got our horrible wings, and we went on with our lives...separated. All the while I tried to put the thought of my first kill away in my head. Surely I believed that there was no way a circumstance like that would happen again._

 _How wrong I was._

 _As the year passed, we were forced into another series of battles and I met this stallion by the name of Thunder Cloud. Becoming suspicious of him as time rolled by, I began to investigate him, trying to figure him out. And as I did, I sadly had to break your father's heart in order to do it. I will admit, it wasn't my brightest moment, but I did it, thinking it would protect him. But, your father, he just couldn't resist the urge to come to my rescue when I was in trouble. That chivalry is why I fell for him you know._

 _And so, there I was again. Someone I loved was in trouble, and I couldn't talk or charm my way out of this one. Seeing no choice, I once again found myself having to take a life in order to save someone dear to me. And again, I tried to rationalize it in my head. I found myself trying to push my mind into a work zone, in order to remind myself who I was. Trying to from some connection to who I really was._

 _But, your father was there with me through it all. As we went on our dates and became closer, he started to become my inner light, my little symbol of virtue that told me that I was still... me. Everytime I began to have doubt about losing myself, I would look to him. So, when he proposed to me, I decided that I wanted to give myself to him... all of me._

 _For me, this act of showing the greatest symbol of our love, was my way of saying that I was still in charge of who I was. That I was still able to be myself and give myself to who I wanted. For me, this was my show of who my heart belonged to._

Rarity smiled as she began to finish, looking down at the sleeping cub, "And this leads me to you." she sighed as she ran a hand through the little bit of mane, "Do you remember mommy's lullaby to you, when you were born? When I said you were Celestia's promise, I meant it. You were her promise that no matter what happens, I can and will always be me. You are my hope for the future, my little Crystal Clarity."

"Rarity? It's getting late..." Spike said, smiling warmly at her.

Rarity looked up at her boyfriend, and nodded, "Coming, my brave knight." Looking to her left, she looked at her blade, "Maybe one day..."


End file.
